template for note keeping

[bella soy]

Hey guys I have decided that keeping notes in a notebook is not going to benefit me when I k=need to go back and find something. I read somewhere else on this forum that some of you keep notes on index cards. I would like to start doing that when I test my candles. I was just wondering if you can give me a guidline to go by as far as what I should be documenting when I am testing my candles.

So far I know that I need....

supplies and co. they came from

how much of each supply i used

temp. times etc.

but when it comes to testing I dont know what I need to document to keep for records

if anyone can just give me an example of what you write on your cards that would be great.

thanks a bunch:smiley2:

[Crafty1_AJ]

Fo supplier and amount used

size/type of wick

How I colored the candle (6 drops blue; 1 drop black)

Pour date

Burn date(s)

Burn times (I keep a log of when lit and when extinguished each time)

Full melt pool time:

And I note anything odd, like an unusually deep melt pool or a wick that appears to be drowning out halfway down the jar. Funky color changes, etc.

Can't think of anything else now, but as soon as I hit the "submit reply" button the rest of my note card items will come to me...

[aswan01]

I always test 6 candles at a time with different wicks in each in different rooms in the house. I do a walk thru about every hour & the first thing I make a note of is the scent throw when I walk into the room. Then I note the melt pool, any smoking or mushrooming, and I touch the jars to make sure none are burning unusually hot. I test that same 6 candles for several days or weeks until all are burned all the way to the bottom (no wonder I don't get many candles made). This is kind of a time-consuming pain in the butt, but I find it easier to compare the wicks all at the same time like this than to try to remember from the notes whether one turned out just a little bit better than the other. I know immediately upon completion of the test burns which did the best job and which I prefer to use for that particular container and scent.

[bella soy]

Thanks Ill try to test more than one as well. Are they all the same scent, container, etc. because your just testing the wick? or is it okay to test different scented candles at the same time? in different rooms of course.

[aswan01]

I test all the same scents because all FO's don't perform the same. Plus it's easier to see which has the better scent if they're all the same scent (of course you do have to also consider the differing sizes of the rooms they're burning in - unless all your rooms are the same size). :smiley2::smiley2::smiley2:

[Crafty1_AJ]

I also test for hot scent throw by leaving the house and getting some fresh air. Then I walk back in and note how far away I was from the burning candle when I first caught the scent. I have my family do this too, as they have more sensitive sniffers than I do. :smiley2:

[Jorie]

I know that there is a template on candle caudron. Does anyone use that?

[aswan01]

I use it with some adjustments. Parts of it I don't use and there's some things I add to it, ie. results of multiple burns on one candle, so I usually end up using the back of the page for additional notes. But it's a good starting point, plus you don't have to come up with your own form.